Garden of Eternity
Established by the Board of Directors 12-8-15
Overview
The Garden of Eternity (GOE) is located in the Southwest corner of the lot. The Garden of Eternity was developed to offer a place for members to memorialize loved ones who have died by donating inscribed bricks to be placed in the Garden's hard-scape. The GOE also serves as a fundraising activity to generate money for the operating budget, these funds to go directly into the Operating Budget, into the line item named "GOE Income." Expenses directly related to the GOE and this Fundraising Activity will be paid from this line item. This would include engraving of bricks, installation of the bricks in the garden by qualified contractors to meet ADA accessibility
standards, maintenance and repair, additional gardening tasks, additional water costs, and funding matching or full grants or waivers provided by decision of the GOE-FC (see below). The initial funds to build the GOE came from a generous donation of member Ray Goodman of $10,000 and a matching grant from the Spirit Level Foundation in San Diego, CA, also of $10,000. Ray Goodman requests that this be an ongoing fundraiser for UUSM to benefit our Operating Budget.
On November 10, The 2015-2016 Board of Directors amended this Tiered Fundraising Structure, proposed by the Garden of Eternity Task Forces, is as follows:
Tiered Donation Structure:
$500 per laser printed brick if paid and ordered before the end of January 2016
$1,000 per laser printed brick (TBD-This cost level will be decided upon by the Board of Directors at a later date)
$1,000 per brick if brass plaque on brick to be installed close to planter where no foot traffic would occur
$5,000 per teak bench with small brass plaque
Ordering and Installation of Bricks
We install these engraved bricks, plaques or benches two times per year, once on a date near The Day of the Dead, and another date in May. An order form must filled out, turned into the UUSM office and paid for in full before brick will be ordered and inscribed. An order is not complete until it is either paid in full or there has been a decision by the GOE Fundraising Committee regarding a matching grant or waiver of the donation fee by email or in writing.
Anyone ordering a brick may have a payment plan of 6 months, but the brick will not be ordered until the donation is paid in full. Members who have purchased bricks will be notified when their brick is ready to be installed and can be present to witness the installation.
Engraving Format of Brick or plaque on brick/bench is 3 lines, and there is a maximum of 18 characters per line. A character is defined as: a letter, number, space, or punctuation mark -- please do not exceed this. Typically, the format is this the name of the departed (First Middle Last) and Date of birth and Date of death. Multiple family member names, spouses or a saying may be engraved. Saying or otherwise may not exceed the maximum as described above. There are approximately 1,200 bricks that may be inscribed in the GOE.
Who Can be Memorialized in the GOE:
The GOE is for Humans only. A friend of UUSM or Current or past Member of UUSM can donate a brick for a friend or family member or other member of the community. Donations for memorial brick could be accepted in lieu of flowers at memorial service, for example.
Matching Grants or Waivers
To those who submit an application form, UUCCSM will offer grants or waivers, over and above the hard cost of the brick. Hard cost of brick to be determined by the GOE Fundraising Committee. Beginning in April of 2016, interested members may submit a form for a waiver or discount of the price of brick inscription. The GOE Fundraising Committee, which shall be four people, will confidentially review these proposals and will consider these requests; three of the four committee members agreeing will either approve or deny a request.
The discount or waiver of the donation of the brick will be entirely needs- or means- based. The Committee will not disclose any of the information on these requests. Furthermore, matching grants will be available for long-time active members, members of 24 months or more, in good standing, and who have financially contributed significantly in the past, but now face financial constraints. Note that limited grant money is available.
GOE Fundraising Committee Responsibilities
The GOE Fundraising Committee will be made up of at least one Board Member, the Church Administrator and three other members of the Congregation to promote and handle the GOE fundraiser. This committee will respond to questions from the community and provide answers based on this policy. The Board of Directors will address any issues beyond the scope of this policy or the GOE Fundraising Committee. This committee will take responsibility for the ongoing fundraising and promotion of the brick inscriptions two times per year including announcements in the order of service, vertical response emails and table set-up during coffee hour.
The Committee will submit quarterly reports to the Board regarding their fundraising efforts, promotion, donations received, and bricks installed. Additionally, the Committee will advise the board of any waivers or reductions granted. In June of every year, the GOE Fundraising Committee will submit a final fiscal year-end report to the Board, which will include:
1. information regarding donations made for this GOE program during the past fiscal year;
2. the net dollar amount;
3. any directed donations that were made for the purchase of inscribed bricks;
4. waivers or reductions granted, and how many were put in the GOE as part of this reduction and waiver/matching grant program.
5.
Amendment: December 8, 2015. Motion: The Board of Directors of UUCCSM approves the Garden of Eternity minimum donation of $500 for the basic engraved brick to continue indefinatley.
Motion approved 7-1.